Tag: newspaper

When multiple unusual things are all happening all at once.

Sometimes, it just seems like the United States is just one big science-fiction movie. Seriously it does. Why? Well, there are various “news” articles popping up here, and then there, that all seem to point to a dystopic future; one that resembles a horrific science fiction film.

I argue that there are two vectors that are intersecting right now. One [1] is that of a fear-based narrative; be afraid, be very afraid. And the other [2] is one of general collapse while everyone is acting crazy and running around in crazy insanity.

These two vectors create a very horrific narrative, and it is one that is now commonplace within the United States.

Here we review some of these events. And discuss what they could mean and look at them as an impartial observer witnessing a geographic area going down the tubes in insanity.

We start with…

Bioweapon tainted monkeys escape into the population…

So many movies had this theme. Remember that that was the “cover story” for “American Ultra”, and the theme for numerous science fiction movies. Such as Outbreak (1995).

“American Ultra”

Woman claims she is sick after carrying hissing monkey that escaped truck in Pennsylvania crash. The woman’s pinkeye was so bad that she checked herself into an emergency room.

Note: Biological weapon experimental monkeys escape? Check the earlier local news from Pennsylvania to know how they activate their military and police forces to blanket search for the 4 escape monkeys, and alerted the local residents to report to the authorities if they come by any monkey and not to get close to the monkeys.
The evil American country is very scary, and a constant threat to the survival of humanity and all living thing on the planet.
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Bioweapon monkeys, eh?

Remember that right before the release of the Coronavirus in the Wuhan games, that an “event” occurred where an agency closed down Fort Detrick. Of course, agencies do not have the power to close American miltiary facilities and bases. It was closed for other reasons, not for the stated reasons.

Only ONE person can close down a military base. That’s the President of the United States.

Remember that right before the release of the Coronavirus in the Wuhan games…an odd closure of the Major Bioweapons facility by the EPA.

Bioweapon monkeys, eh?

Yeah. Sure.

Right before XXXXX, an odd escaped monkey started to terrorize America.

Bioweapon monkeys eh?

The United States and rules…

Obviously the “news” is full of such bullshit, partial truths and distortions and no one knows what is really going on. most Americans are completely confused by the onslaught of lies, and many beleive them.

And that makes it easy for the USA to do what it wants.

Thus, it is not unusual for the USA to make the rules as they see fit.

[A] Laws, and rules domestically no longer have any validity, and [B] international treaties are used when it provides advantage, and discarded when they do not.

Combined, [A] and [B] clearly show a nation in chaos where there are no rules, no structures, and very little in the way of law.

As I see it, the United States is like this big thrashing monster, and it is trying desperately to cling to power and relevance. But it is failing at every level, and that is why it is engaged in World War III right now. The opening salvos hit this month, and they are concerning…

Sitrep on the emerging actions of World War III

Let’s look at some of the “news” that can be found in the American, Britsh and Australian “news” media…

Supermarket tabloids

Of couse, it’s just bullshit, and made up stories. However, these things sell, and that means that there ARE people who read them. I remeber when I lived in Kokomo, Indiana, USA  that my next door neighbor (a girl named Misty, a stripper by the way) would read these things weekly and believed every word written in them…

Ah.

Then we have just day to day news.

I have no doubt that this actually occurred, but think about it. Look at this chick, and note that he has convinced the police detective to investigate fifteen (15!) men of raping her.

Woman Who Falsely Accused 15 Men Of Rape Given 10 Year Sentence

A woman from West London is to be jailed for a decade for falsely accusing over a dozen men of sexually assaulting her. 27-year-old Jemma Beale, who hails from Bedfont, west London, was handed a lengthy prison sentence for perverting the course of justice and perjuring innocent men in 2017, one of whom was jailed for two years.

Now, Beale has challenged her sentence throughout the latest appeal process, in a bid to clear her name. However, the prosecution presented evidence that Beale texted her then-girlfriend, saying that she was “glorying in his discomfort” when giving false evidence against one of her victims.

Beale made her first complaint on the morning of 26 November 2010, telling police that she’d been sexually assaulted by Mahad Cassim the previous night. Cassim was sentenced to seven years in prison for rape in 2012.

According to her, all men cannot wait to rape her.

Beale had been supported by the authorities throughout her case as a victim of sexual violence, whose account was to be believed. Professionals will have been on hand to give her support, in addition to a police victim-liaison officer.

She received compensation from the taxpayer amounting to £11,000. Meanwhile, the innocent man whom she had falsely accused was rotting in a prison cell, his reputation destroyed and his life effectively over. Before his conviction was quashed, he had already served over two years of his seven-year sentence.

Beale later told police she had been the victim of two other sexual assaults that year, and allegedly fabricated similar allegations against six other men in 2013.

Commenting on the case, Lady Justice Hallett, the judge presiding over the appeal, stated:

“This case went far further then myths and stereotypes about a complainant’s behaviour. The appellant was accused of being a serial liar who fabricated accounts mostly of a sexual nature. In the light of the evidence called even if the guidance was given it would not have assisted the appellant.”

She added:

“The system of justice has suffered considerable harm – considerable resources have been spent investigating and prosecuting crimes which never happened. There has been no indication of remorse on the appellant’s part.”

…

Then we have this article. Knowing what I know of certain individuals that I have met in prison, this seems to be much more common than one woud think…

But… why?

There must also be betting, and gambling, and probably other vices as well. Don’t you know.

But you do know that maybe it’s how American children are being raised today. Consider this next article…

And when the children grow up, and they discover alcohol, drugs and influence on social media, they start to act really strange.

Like this fellow.

Why?

Well, you need to understand that the United States is fragmented, and balkenized.  As this next article illustrates…

Tennessee Pastor Who Repeatedly Raped 14-Year-Old Daughter Gets Lenient Sentence Because He Was A Good Christian

A former pastor who repeatedly raped his adopted teenage daughter has been given an effective 12 year prison sentence.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports prosecutors sought the maximum term of 72 years behind bars. The judge on the case, Steve Sword, took Richards work as a pastor, the support he still receives and his role key role in leading a Bible study at the prison as mitigating factors.

During his trial in February, 41-year-old David Lynn Richards Jr. had taken the stand in his own defense and asserted his innocence.

He claimed that the victim, Amber Richards, was a defiant teenager who made the allegations of sexual abuse against him after he tried to impose stricter rules on his children.

The victim was 16 when she reported the abuse, saying it began two years earlier.

She told authorities where they could find DNA evidence at her home and said Richards had texted her about taking their relationship “to the next level.” A

uthorities said they found her mattress stripped bare and his phone factory reset, but they were able to recover Forensic evidence showing traces of Richards’ semen on his daughter’s bed frame

Amber, who has chosen to identify herself and speak out after Richards was found guilty, delivered a powerful impact statement before Richards’ sentencing on Thursday.

“I wanted to throw my body away. Not a day goes by that I don’t, in some way, think of what he did to me. … I firmly believe if given the opportunity, he would victimize another young girl.”

Despite the overwhelming evidence, many in the community refused to believe that Pastor Richards was a rapist.

Over 30 parishioners from the church came to court to show support not for the victim, but for the rapist.

Pastor David Thompson, who shared ministry duties with Pastor Richards at My Father’s House Church of God in Lenoir City, said:

I find it impossible for me to believe he’s guilty of this. His business needs him. His family needs him. Our church needs him.

Despite being found guilty, Richards Jr continued to maintain his innocence while asking the judge for leniency in the sentence.

I stand before you convicted of crimes I did not commit. … I’m not sure why I’m here. … but I assume it’s for His purpose.

Welcome to America.

You know Hollywood, and alcohol dosen’t always mix. ..

And things are even weirder in Great Britian…

But I have to tell you all that things are off-the-wall in certain parts of the United States. Consider the American “Bible Belt”.

Here’s a map of the “Bible Belt”.

Bible Belt.

And this is what goes on there as everyday fodder…

Christian TV Host: Plant-Based Burgers Are A Satanic Plot To Create A “Race of Soulless Creatures”

Rick Wiles warned on his “TruNews” program that the rise of companies that make plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products, is part of a satanic plot to alter human DNA so that people can no longer worship God.

Appearing on his program earlier this week, Wiles said:

When you go to your favorite fast food restaurant, you are going to be eating a fake hamburger. You’re going to go to the grocery store and buy a pound of fake hamburger or a fake steak, and you won’t know that it was grown in some big corporation’s laboratory. This is the nightmare world that they are taking us into. They’re changing God’s creation. Why? Because they want to be God.

Wiles continued:

God is an environmentalist. He takes this very seriously. He created this planet, he created the universe and he’s watching these Luciferians destroy this planet, destroy the animal kingdom, destroy the plant kingdom, change human DNA. Why? They want to change human DNA so that you can’t be born again. That’s where they’re going with this, to change the DNA of humans so it will be impossible for a human to be born again. They want to create a race of soulless creatures on this planet.

…

Yuppr.

Things are awfully strange in the ‘States right now.

No more fun in the sun for Jake.

…

I guess sex is a great motivator.

Consider this screen shot…

I mean, if you are hungry… well…

America is insane, and it is exploding in all sorts of strangeness.

Colorado University Warns Students Not to Say ‘America’, ‘American’ Because It’s Not Inclusive

Colorado State University has included the words “American” and “America” on its list of language to avoid because they are not inclusive.

The school’s Inclusive Communications Task Force compiled a list of words in its Inclusive Language Guide that serve to help those on campus foster “inclusion, respect, and social justice.”

The guide states that it is not about being politically correct but instead is there to help “communicators practice inclusive language” and make everyone on campus “feel welcomed, respected, and valued.”

CSU lists both “American” and “America” as non-inclusive words “to avoid,” due to the fact that America encompasses more than just the U.S.

“The Americas encompass a lot more than the United States,” the guide states. “There is South America, Central America, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean just to name a few of 42 countries in total.”

By referring to the U.S. as America, the guide claims that one “erases other cultures and depicts the United States as the dominant American country.” The school suggests using “U.S. citizen” or “person from the U.S.” as substitutes.

The guide advises students to use the words “U.S. citizen” or “person from the U.S.” instead of “American.”

Among other words and phrases on the list are:

The words “male” and “female” (because this “refers to biological sex and not gender,” and “we very rarely need to identify or know a person’s biological sex and more often are referring to gender”), “cake walk” (because it apparently has origins in “the racism of 19th century minstrel shows”), “freshman” (because it “excludes women and non-binary gender identities”), “Hispanic” (“because of its origins in colonialization and the implication that to be Hispanic or Latinx/Latine/Latino, one needs to be Spanish-speaking”), “hold down the fort” (because “the U.S. the historical connotation refers to guarding against Native American ‘intruders’ and feeds into the stereotype of ‘savages’”), “no can do” (because it was “originally a way to mock Chinese people”), “peanut gallery” (because it “names a section in theaters, usually the cheapest and worst, where many Black people sat during the era of Vaudeville”), “straight” (because it “implies that anyone LGBT is ‘crooked’ or not normal”), “food coma” (because it “directly alludes to the stereotype of laziness associated with African-Americans”), and “war” or “battle,” when used any way other than to describe a literal war or battle (because “they evoke very real tragedy that can be problematic for survivors of war or Veterans”). (National Review)

The guide does note, however, that the recommendations are not official policy.

…

What some people will do for a lawn tool.

And what some people will do for fun…

But, you know…

This kind of disconnect from rules, laws and tradition occur world-wide. It’s just that the United States is really very sick.

Consider the middle east…

Saudi Millionaire Who Said He Accidentally “Tripped and Penetrated” Teenage Girl Cleared of Rape

Ehsan Abdulaziz, a Saudi millionaire property developer, was cleared of rape charges in London after he claimed that he had tripped and fallen on an 18-year-old girl who was sleeping at his apartment after partying with him, penetrating her by accident.

The Saudi property developer said he had already had sex with the young woman’s 24-year-old friend and it was possible his penis may have been poking out of his underwear when he tripped

The Mirror reported the group had met at an exclusive West End club last year where he entertained them before offering them a lift home.

The 18-year-old claimed that after a number of drinks at Abdulaziz’s north London home, she went to sleep on the couch.

She said she woke up to find him on top of her, forcing himself on her.

“She woke up with the defendant kissing her and his penis in her vagina,” prosecutor Jonathan Davies told the Southwark Crown Court.

“She said: ‘What are you doing?’ and he said ‘It’s fine,’ indicating that her friend was asleep.

“She got up to find her friend, tried to wake her but couldn’t, she then tried to get out of the flat as quickly as she could.”

Abdulaziz said he had accidentally fallen on the teenager and that she tried to seduce him, and that was how his DNA got onto her vagina.

“I’m fragile, I fell down but nothing ever happened, between me and this girl nothing ever happened,” he said.

He also told the court it was possible he had semen on his hands after having sex with the young woman’s friend.

The jury acquitted Abdulaziz after just 30 minutes of deliberations.

They believed his excuse. He was obviouly being truthful as he was man and a “pillar of the community”.

…

Tripped.

And of course, there’s all sorts of lies on the Western “news” too.

Like this one about China.

Hey, do you see their faces? Do you see their clothing? How can you tell where this picture was taken?

Well. Look at the pavement. That’s asphalt.

It’s against the law to pave large public areas in China, only certain roads can be paved with asphalt. Only bike lanes maybe paved (and on special permission) cerain senic roads. But never large public areas. They are either cement, if in the rural areas, or dressed stone, which is the norm. This pavement is NOT of dressed stone.

My guess is that someone staged this photo in the UK or USA and wrote a bullshit story around it. It’s pretty common for American “news” these days.

Indeed.

It’s awfully strange in America these days.

Awfully strange.

And it’s not just that.

It’s everything.

Dodgeball Is “An Unethical Tool Of Oppression” And Should Be Banned, Say Researchers

Researchers in Canada say that dodgeball is nothing more than legalized bullying.

When you’re setting up the environment for students to learn, and you introduce the idea that it’s okay to slam the ball at whomever you like, even if it’s with a soft ball, the intention is there,’ Joy Butler, a professor who studies pedagogy and curriculum development said to the Washington Post.

‘When students think it’s okay because they’re being told it’s okay to do that, what do they learn? People say dodgeball is being used as an outlet for aggression or catharsis. I suspect that this is where they’re learning that.

‘Phys-ed should be an arena where teachers are helping students control their aggression and move on instead of expressing themselves through anger.’

Researchers interviewed middle-school students about their physical education classes and say the overwhelming feeling was that students hated dodgeball.

The team’s findings are to be presented at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences this week in Vancouver and will argue that the playground favorite actually ‘reinforces the five faces of oppression’ identified as exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence by political theorist Iris Marion Young.

‘I think of the little girl who is running to the back to avoid being targeted,’

Professor Butler said.

‘What is she learning in that class? Avoidance?’

Researchers also noted that they had observed the more athletic, authoritative students had created their own rules and purposely stacked the teams.  This, naturally made it more difficult for the less athletic or popular to compete.

‘The message is that it’s okay to hurt or dehumanize the ‘other,’

Butler said.

‘The competition is about annihilating one’s opponent, and the true definition of competition is between two evenly matched teams. Well, kids stack their teams, and they really enjoy beating the other team. What’s the enjoyment of that?’

“Despite the fact that many physical educators understand their vital role in helping students develop robust, equal, productive relationships and critical awareness, their practices on the ground do not always reflect this agenda,”

they write.

“We suggest that this tension becomes sharply visible in the common practice of allowing students to play dodgeball.

They ultimately recommended that Physical Education curriculum’s focus more on health, wellness and fitness rather than just sports.

…

Next up is Brazil. I wonder how many followers he had…

Holy milk, eh?

I wonder if he told them that those that drank the “fresh milk” would get special privileges. Perhaps if they bent over, and prayed really hard…

Meanwhile in Utah…

Yuppur.

Strange things in the United States these days.

And in Africa…

Say what?

And again, inside the United States…

From the low-lives, to the high brow… all of the United States has gone insane.

Insane.

Colorado State University: Saying ‘Long Time, No See,’ ‘You Guys,’ ‘Freshman’ is Offensive

Students at Colorado State University (CSU), apparently, should no longer say “long time, no see,” “you guys” or “freshman,” because those terms are not considered “inclusive language.”

That’s according to a student, Katrina Leibee, who writes for the campus paper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Leibee met with Zahra Al-Saloom, director of diversity and inclusion at CSU, who showed her an entire packet of terms and phrases considered contrary to the university’s mission of fostering inclusion.

“One of these phrases was ‘long time, no see,’ which is viewed as derogatory towards those of Asian descent,” wrote Leibee.

The packet says the phrase originally mocked “Native Americans or Chinese pidgin English” without providing an ounce of historical context. It suggests saying the flaccid, unmeasured, structureless, “I haven’t seen you in a while” in the phrase’s place.

“We were told that the popular term ‘you guys’ was not inclusive of all genders, and we should instead replace it with ‘y’all,’” she wrote. “We were told to use the term ‘first-year’ instead of ‘freshman,’ because ‘freshman’ is not inclusive of all genders.”

“A countless amount of words and phrases have been marked with a big, red X and defined as non-inclusive,” she continued. “It has gotten to the point where students should carry around a dictionary of words they cannot say.”

When the CSU student confronted the campus language commissars about the fact that nowhere in the country are phrases like “long time, no see” being regulated, she was given empty platitudes about making the world a better place where she stands.

Even if the world isn’t good, you should be good,” one superior told her. “CSU abides by the principles of community, and we want to make it an inclusive space.”

And no one is immune.

Such as this “Chinese man”…

And it affects everyone.

Did you know that Gordon Ramsay had a dwarf porn double? And that he died in a “Badger Den”? And that they had Badger Dens in Wales?

I’ll tell youse guys it’s an awfully strange world we are living in.

Next up should be a “Florida man” article. But no. Sorry.

It’s “Oregon Man”.

High on life, I’ll bet.

And some things just make me cringe.

And if you think that things just cannot get worse, well then you have this…

Let’s see.

Oh, yeah. Here’s a “Florida man”…

Florida Man Arrested For Attempting To “Barbecue” Child Molesters

Osceola County police officers arrested a Florida man after it was discovered that he attempted to “barbecue all the child molesters on fire and kill them.” Jorge Porto-Sierra, 50, confessed to investigators that he had attempted to kill several people who were at a motel in Kissimmee.

Witnesses say the suspect was carrying a cigarette and shouting threats such as “I’m going to kill you, child molester,” during the incident at the motel. He allegedly poured gas on several doors, broke a window to pour gas into a room. In addition, Porto-Sierra allegedly attacked two other individuals inside a car in the hotel parking lot, first by pouring gasoline into the car through an open window. When the driver attempted to flee, Porto-Sierra got into his black Ford Focus and started ramming their car.

Deputies then arrived on the scene, where they say Porto-Sierra surrendered right away. Waiving his Miranda rights, Porto-Sierra confessed and told the authorities, “they raped kids, they are child molesters that all live here and deserve to die.”

Sex offenders in Florida are required to publicly register their home address with the Sexual Offender and Predator System. That system shows more than 20 offenders are using the Friendly Village Inn & Motel as their home address.

When deputies asked why he didn’t flicker his lit cigarette at the gasoline he had poured, the old man simply said, “You got here too soon.”

…

But at least people are starting to trust the police more.

…

What’s next?

I mean it’s all getting pretty bad.

Maybe cats and dogs will start fighting, and mass hysteria will hit new York (a paraphrased quote from “Ghostbusters”.)

Some final thoughts

Question to the reader. Sure these are interesting, and curious “news” items. But do they really improve your life? Are you better informed in the world directly around you and that with you interact with? Or, as I allude to, it is all puzzle pieces thrown on the floor in disarray…

Some are just made up lies. Like the China nonsense.

Some are news items; regional, small-time strangeness that takes place far away in areas that you have no idea about, haven’t visited, and know nothing of the culture there.

Some are government related, and of course, anything out of the Untied States govenrment is scheduled, preplanned and presented as “leaked” info to give it legitimity.

Some are stores of fraudsters, crooks, and criminals who use a new angle or technique to fleece others for money, or sex.

So I must ask again. Is your life better for reading about this stuff? Did you really learn somehting that you can apply to your life right now?

I argue that it just wasted your time.

Like sitting in a circus tent and watching clowns juggle bowling pins. A curious waste of time. Novel, perhaps, but does not improve your lfie.

So what things can you do to improve your life, eh?

Well, for starters. Do what you love to do. Seriously. I am not kidding. Do what you like to do.

Just do it and let the rest of the world scream! video 3MB

Identify who your friends are. Sure you can and should have all sorts of friends. But you need to identify which ones are REAL, the REAL DEAL friends, video 3MB

Get started right now. Do little things. Like Make Your Bed.

Great video. Listen to the great words of wisdom from a Navy Seal. video 7MB

If you start being nice and kind, irregardless to what others think, and act better and smile more, you will be the Rufus.

And if you are the Rufus you will find that your world-line template gets easier to endure. You will find that things get easier becuase instead of your mind filled with the daily garbage from the “news” you will have good things, and tangible things in yoru life… generated by the good thoughts of all those around you.

Be the Rufus. video 18MB

Not only that, but being a Rufus means so much more.

It means being there and acting instantly. video 5MB

Go perform deeds of kindness.

Make the world a better place. video 17MB

American and Western society is predicated in a civilian population of spectators. Those that are being told how great they are for doing nothing more than sitting into little grey cubicle boxes and giving 50% of everything that they make to the government.

That is not living.

But you can change all that.

Maybe not the entire society, but you can change your little part of it. Perform your affirmation campaigns. Mesure your fate forecast. Perfrom centering exercises though Hemi-sync, and be the Rufus. Your life will change dramatically.

Not overnight.

Certainly years of programming and fear-induced habits will not disappear in a week or so, but if you keep up with the exercises and do the best with what you have, it WILL change.

I promise you that.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my “Growth as a Person” Index here…

Growth

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Articles & Links

Master Index

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  • You can start reading the articles by going HERE.
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Going through one of the poorer fifth tier cities in China, a video exposé.

Yeah. This is what it is like. I’ve got a video that you’ll all will want to see. It’s pretty good. Almost as good as being here. It’s a pretty much grass-roots view of China in one of the “back water” towns in the “hinterland”. LOL. I think that you will all enjoy it.

But first…

… let’s talk about things that aren’t so serious. I mean, why not? Right? Like Pistachios. And Jarts. And blueberry pop-tarts, and big breakfasts with baked beans, easy over eggs, and lots and lots of bacon. And coffee. Percolated coffee. Thick.

The postman always drinks twice.

Not so serious things.

Or, maybe serious.

And right off the bat I want to discuss some of the odd things that make me scratch my head in thought. Well, actually pet my beard, up and down, and go hummmm.It’s some thoughts that aren’t big enough for a post of their own, but curious enough not to omit.

And the first up is this little critter. Kinda cute. You know.

Cute little creature. I think that he is a really good candidate for an actual dragon. Don’t you?

I always thought that dragons were a creature from fantasy, and the legends of dragons might be from remote memories of dinosaurs in our common shared humanity. But here, it pretty much seems definitive. Here be an actual dragon.

So here I am, minding my own business and I come across this little picture. I look at it, scroll past it. Pause. Stop. Think about the little guy, and go back to him.

He’s sort of cute, eh?

And here’s a group of guys from “Trailer Park Boys”. Not so cute. They remind me of my friends from Arkansas. In fact, their stereotype can pretty much be found all over America.  Not that it’s bad mind you, but that it is not the narrative, its the way people interact with each other at different levels of financial success or distress.

Here’ to “the crew”!

Trailer Park Boys chilling out.

I know that it is supposed to be a comedy, but really I actually know a lot of people like this. It’s the human experience, don’t you know.

The human experience.

You all have a front-row-seat. Don’t you know.

And speaking about the human experience, look at this little tool. It’s advertised to massage the gums. But come on! You aren’t  going to tell me that that’s the real purpose of this little gizmo. Are you?

Designed to massage the gums.

No. The real reason and the real purpose of this little device is to make it easier to pick your nose. Now with this vibrating finger your nose can be really get all clean and worked up.

Next up is a nostalgic picture.

When a government is working, and efficient, and has crime under control, inflation doesn’t exist. All inflation can be traced back to government mismanagement at some level. And sure there are all kinds of excuses justifying it’s existence, I like to believe that it is a measure of government mismanagement.

With that in mind, look at this picture please…

The good old days.

…and then, boom!

We are back to serious things.

Where has Americans’ income gone?

By Ding Gang 

Ten years ago, I went to New York City with the correspondent group of then Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's delegation. After we arrived, the Chinese side invited some former US senior officials and entrepreneurs to hold a symposium. At that time, the trade imbalance between China and the US was already prominent.

Wen gave the example of an iPod player, whose price was about $290 in the US at the time, but a Chinese manufacturer can only get $6 from each sale. I remember there was a heated discussion in China at that time - we would exchange 800 million shirts for a Boeing plane.

Do Americans earn more because they make more money? From what I have learned during my visits to the US these years, prices of commodities did not change much, or even become cheaper as production bases have been moved to China and other countries. But wages for middle- and low-income Americans have not risen much, or none at all. Reports show that in a 2015 contract between the United Automobile Workers and the Detroit automakers, senior workers received just a 2 percent annual pay increase, after suffering a 10-year pay freeze.

Where has Americans' income gone?

To answer this question, we need to look at the earnings of the biggest companies in the stock market. Apple, for example, was number one, with a net income of $57.4 billion in 2020, up from $14 billion in 2010. Of course, the growth of income of the senior executives at big companies and the big investors is even more startling. In January, The New York Times reported that "America's richest 10 percent, who own more than 80 percent of US stocks, have seen their wealth more than triple in 30 years, while the bottom 50 percent, relying on their day jobs in real markets to survive, had zero gains." 

Economist Jonathan Rothwell listed an example in his book A Republic of Equals: A Manifesto for a Just Society: In Spain, Sweden and Iceland, doctors earn twice as much as the average worker, but in the US, physicians and surgeons earn nearly five times as much.

Such a huge gap between the rich and poor will bring at least two troubles for the future reforms in the US. First, the large-scale relief measures which aim at helping relieve the pressure of middle- and low-income Americans will actually help big enterprises, the rich and the upper class. In other words, the measures won't address the problem of the rich-poor gap.

Second, the US design of system is based on the principle of "profits first." But the increase of profits for big companies comes more and more at the cost of unemployment of the middle and lower classes. As New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman wrote, "We're in the middle of a pandemic that has crushed jobs and small businesses - but the stock market is soaring. That's not right. That's elephants flying. I always get worried watching elephants fly. It usually doesn't end well."

Both of these issues touch upon the old issue of raising taxes from big companies and from the rich. This will inevitably touch the foundation on which the US is built - competition in the free market economy which aims at improving efficiency. Moreover, getting vested interests to concede benefits is not an easy task.

If money can't be obtained from taxes, there is only one way to go: printing more money. When things get to this point, it is no longer just a question of whether the social divisions can be healed, whether people can be united to move forward.

US economist Stephen Roach recently pointed out that last year, the combined COVID-19 relief packages in the US hit a total of $5 trillion, or 24 percent of GDP in 2020. This far exceeds all records. On March 6, US Senate passed President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. 

Will this destroy the world's confidence in the dollar? After all, green note is the foundation of US hegemony.

Will all this destroy the world’s confidence in the United States dollar? Heck! You bet. It’s already destroyed, and most nations welcome alternatives. Leading the pack is China with Gold Backed digital yuan. And trading directly and electronically.

Which brings up this most timely article from the Economic Collapse Blog;

Brace Yourselves For The Most Dramatic Shift In The Standard Of Living In All Of U.S. History

by

They are assuring us that we don’t have to be concerned about “inflation” because they have everything under control.  Do you believe them?  The value of the U.S. dollar has been steadily declining for a long time, and most Americans have grown accustomed to having the cost of living rise at a faster pace than their paychecks do.  But over the past 12 months an enormous paradigm shift has begun.  Instead of devaluing our currency a little bit at a time, now our leaders are going “full Weimar”.

Our money supply is growing at an exponential rate, and this is becoming a major national crisis.  As I pointed out yesterday, it took from the founding of our county all the way to 2020 for M1 to reach 4 trillion dollars.  But then from the start of the pandemic to today, M1 has gone from 4 trillion dollars to 18 trillion dollars.  To call that “economic malpractice” would be way too kind.

The truth is that it is complete and utter lunacy, and we are all going to literally pay the price for such madness. Sadly, inflation is already starting to show up in a major way all throughout our economy.

For example, most Americans have noticed that the price of gasoline has really started to shoot up over the last several weeks…

Gas prices have been increasing at the pump for the past few weeks, reaching a national average of $2.77 a gallon as of Monday, which is 39 cents higher than the same time in 2020, according to AAA.

A lot of people are alarmed by this, but the Federal Reserve insists that this is completely normal.

Meanwhile, the price of agricultural commodities has risen by 50 percent over the past year…

The price of agricultural commodities traded on the global stage has shot up by 50 percent since the middle of 2020, according to economists at Rabobank.
In a new report, the bank pins the lift in the price of wheat, corn, soy, sugar, and a range of other commodities on the northern La Niña, a weakening US currency, market speculators, and rising demand from importing nations.

As those prices are passed along to the consumer, you will be paying more for groceries at your local supermarket, but authorities assure us that prices will stabilize once the economy returns to “normal”.

The good news is that at least the price of food is not rising as fast as the price of lumber is…

Lumber prices have increased more than 180 percent since last spring, and this price spike has caused the price of an average new single-family home to increase by $24,386 since April 17, 2020, according to the NAHB standard estimates of lumber used to build the average home.

Now that is some serious inflation!

There are so many people that have had to put their plans to build a home on hold in recent months because the price of lumber has gotten so ridiculously high.

But the experts at the Fed insist that those that are warning of hyperinflation just have wild imaginations. Over the course of the past year, our leaders have pumped trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars into the system, and all of that money has to go somewhere.

In such a highly inflationary environment, this sort of a thing can happen…

A digital collage by American artist Beeple which exists only as a JPG file sold Thursday for a record $69.3 million at Christie’s, fetching more money than physical works by many better-known artists.
‘Everydays: The First 5,000 Days’ became the most expensive ever ‘non-fungible token’ (NFT) – a collectible digital asset that uses blockchain technology to turn virtual work into a unique item – after being listed at the start of the two-week auction for only $100.

The U.S. dollar is being transformed into “toilet paper money”, and we are rapidly approaching the point of no return.

At least if our paychecks were rising as fast as the cost of living was, American families would be able to keep up with the escalating prices. But of course that is not happening, and more Americans are falling out of the middle class with each passing day.

In fact, vast numbers of formerly middle class Americans no longer have jobs at all.  Last week another 712,000 Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits, and the number of claims continues to hover around “four times the typical pre-crisis level”…

Weekly jobless claims have remained stubbornly high for months, hovering around four times the typical pre-crisis level, although it’s well below the peak of almost 7 million that was reached when stay-at-home orders were first issued a year ago in March.
There are roughly 10 million fewer jobs than there were last year in February before the crisis began.

This is not what an “economic recovery” looks like.

The truth is that the U.S. economy is broken, and the only solution our leaders have is to print, borrow and spend even more money.  Now Biden and his minions are about to pump another 1.9 trillion dollars into the system. Do you think that will make the inflation crisis better or do you think that it will make it worse?

You don’t need to answer, because the answer is self-evident.

As prices soar into the stratosphere, life is going to become increasingly difficult for most Americans.

If your income does not rise as fast as prices are going up, your standard of living will go down. Of course you will be far from alone.  The vast majority of Americans are about to experience a dramatic shift in the standard of living, and most of the population doesn’t even realize what is happening.

All they know is that more government checks are on the way, and most of them are absolutely thrilled about that. But all of this printing, borrowing and spending has put us on a path to national financial suicide. As we continue to recklessly destroy the value of our currency, other nations will begin to realize that a move to a different reserve currency is needed.

And once the U.S. dollar is no longer the reserve currency of the world, there will never be any going back to the “good old days”.

We are so close to the economic endgame, and the word “collapse” is not nearly strong enough to describe what is eventually going to happen to the United States.

…
Yikes!

It makes me yearn for the good old days.

Well for all the good stuff that I have to say about China, now I am going to vent on some of the bad stuff. It’s not that I want to, but sometimes it’s just so frustrating. You want to eat some olives, and some slices of cheese, maybe Swiss or a fine Lorraine, and the only think that you can find is the pseudo cheese slices. Ugh!

It is difficult to truly enjoy cheese.

Ah. The Chinese enjoy everything, but cheese seems to elude them. Sigh.

Oh sure, you can find it here, but it’s not common and it’s not enjoyed the same way. It is sprinkled on items like you would sprinkle salt and pepper. Not layered and melted into a smooth creamy consistency. Like on Pizza.

It’s treated like a spice. Not as a major food group.

Which brings me to the delicious subject of Fondue. Now, I know it’s not all that popular in America these days, but at least there’s a few Americans get to try it at least once a year or so. And at that, when you pair it with a fine wine, it becomes a wonderful occasion.

Oh, and do not mistakenly believe that you need to buy any expensive fondue pots, pans or utensils to make it. You don’t. All you need is a pan, and the ingredients, and some long stemmed forks. That’s it. So what is stopping you?

Eh?

From HERE…

Fondue is a traditional Swiss dish that is prepared from pieces of cheese, thermally melted with white wine in a special fondue pot – “caquelon”, to a creamy consistency, flavored with cherry rakia or cherry brandy. It’s tasted by dipping hard bread cubes, rolled in the melted cheese with special fondue forks.

 Fondue is a warm dish that can contain one or more types of cheese, usually Gruyere and Vacherine Fribourgeois. It is the main national dish of Switzerland together with с raclette. It is also known in the Eastern French regions Savoie and Franch-Comte since the 1950s where it is prepared with Beaufort cheese or Comte cheese.

Now, maybe the “officially correct” way of making fondue uses the dish, the forks, and the special cheeses. But we are just simple people wanting to have simple pleasures with our friends… RIGHT NOW.

Here’s a hint, you make use of what you have. And you call up your friends, and you add some wine. Some nice music, and you all work together to make that delicious cheesy fondue happen.

Delicious fondue.

And he continues on the narrative…

At the table, the fondue of melted cheeses is served in the so-called “caquelon” (a type of enameled, cast iron or ceramic pot) in which pieces of bread are dipped with a special fork with three prongs (there are also forks with two prongs, but they are mainly associated with the meat fondue – the Bourguignon or the Chinese type). The fondue pot (caquelon) is located on a metal pad (usually made of wrought iron) at the base of which is located the heat source (a heater or candles) that keeps the fondue at the desired temperature throughout the meal.

Fondue forks are long-stemmed with a round handle. A piece of bread or rarely potato slices (traditionally consumed with Fondue fribourgeoise) are dipped into the melted cheese stirring in a circular or a figure-eight motion of the fork. 

When removing the fork from the fondue, it should be rotated continuously in a circle so that the melted cheese doesn’t drip outside the pot. The soaked mouthful is served towards the mouth when the cheese is already cooled to a suitable temperature for consumption and thus a full taste is achieved.

It is a common rule for cheese producers to sell ready-made cheese mixes, especially for fondue preparation, which makes it possible to avoid the difficult choice of the cheese combination. In Switzerland, these cheese mixes can be found in supermarkets.

They are not generally found in the United States, and most certainly not in China.

But that’s the price you pay when you live in different areas. If I lived in Switzerland, I would be in “seventh Heaven” smunching on all that delicious food. I’ll tell you what.

There are many and varied Fondue recipes. For example, before beginning the fondue preparation, several cloves of garlic can be crushed at the bottom of the caquelon, then add the grated or sliced cheese and finally pour the wine.

The specific thin in the Fribourgeoise fondue recipe is that the wine is replaced with water. The fondue set is turned on on a slow fire while stirring periodically until the cheese is completely melted. Then pepper and other supplements are added according to the desired recipe, such as sliced in cubes shallots, morel mushroom, mustard, etc. Corn starch dissolved in a little bit of cherry brandy can be used to thicken and improve consistency in cases where more wine is added, for example, or when the fondue is more liquid.

Sometimes, a little bit of cardamom powder (which improves digestion) or other spices can be poured directly into the plate, where the cheese dipped bite is rolled right before consumption.

Finally, when the fondue is over, it is possible to have dregs or crust of toasted cheese, called “religieuse”, which is removed with a fork, sometimes it is quite difficult.

Also, at the end of the fondue you can add and prepare scrambled eggs.

Main varieties of Swiss cheese fondues

FONDUE CHEESE CONTENT
Moitié–Moitié 50% Gruyére and 50% Vacherin
Fribourgeoise 100% Vacherin Fribourgeois
Appenzelloise 100% Appenzeller
Neuchateloise 50% Gruyére and 50% Emmental
Central Switzerland 1/3 Gruyére, 1/3 Emmental, 1/3 Sbrinz
Savoyard 50% Emmental of Savoy and 50% Beaufort or Comté
Franc-Comtois 100% Comté

Now my deep secret…

I love cheese. Oh I really do. And you know you don’t appreciate things until you live without them. And that is so very true about cheese and China.

Like on hamburgers turning them magically into cheeseburgers. (It’s magical how it works.) You put the cheese on top of the burger after you cooked one side, and then you let the heat from inside the burger melt the cheese on to the paddy. You don’t rely on the heat around the burger to do it. Then you watch the cheese melt. It gets soft at the edges and then starts to wrap around the burger and starts to clutch it like a firm loving embrace.

Ahhh.

Turning hamburgers into cheeseburgers.

And…

As much as the delicious improvements to hamburgers come from cheese, so do improvements in just about anything else. You know like this…

Delicious cheeseburger.

Do you know what is better than thick gooey cheese on top of a cheeseburger? It’s thick gooey cheese inside of a cheeseburger. That’s what.

You know, it’s been years, but I used to make the “pizza burgers”. I would mix pizza sauce with the hamburger meat. Then put a chunk of mozzarella cheese in the middle of the patty and cook it that way. My only problem was that the meat would tend to crumble and resemble a “sloppy Joe” more than a burger. But it tasted oh so good. I’ll tell you what.

What a pizza burger is not…

There are many ideas of what a pizza-burger is. I’m gonna tell you all what it is not…

  • It is not a burger with pizza sauce instead of ketchup.
  • It is not an open bun burger (the top missing) with pepperoni slices.
  • It is not a mini-pizza the size of a hamburger.

And if you try to do an image search on Bing that is what you are going to find.  Sad. So very, very sad.

Not real pizza-burgers.

Nope. A real pizza burger has the burger consisting of meat and pizza sauce, and lots and lots of gooey melted cheese. That’s a pizza burger!

Smunching on a burger, and then enjoying life.

Maybe it’s time to go out and do some shopping. Eh?

Going shopping with Mom.

Moving on

You know that there is one very special thing that would really improve the taste of cheese. Aside from friends, and your favorite pets, and some nice tunes (music). Can you guess what I am thinking about?

Yes. You are right.

Alcohol.

Or, more specifically… wine.

Wine and a cheeseburger. So very delicious.

While I have my thoughts, other people are far better versed in explaining the nuances between the different kinds of wines.

A good hamburger is an indulgence. It is also pretty much always a little decadent, rich and hearty, which makes it a natural match for red wine. Sure, some white wines could work, and lots of sparkling wines too. But come on, let’s drink some red wine with our red meat.

  • A Red wine goes best with a hamburger / cheeseburger. You can tell if it is a red wine by it’s color. Red wine has a red color.

Below are some classic wine styles (and bottle recommendations) that pair with burgers, plus a couple of not-so-classic picks that worked well recently with a variety of burger styles — from a simple Swiss cheeseburger with all-American condiments, to a black-truffle-mayo-and-fried-egg stunner, to a bison burger with cheddar, caramelized onions and wasabi mayo.

I would never suggest a ho-hum wine just because burgers are, at the end of the night, just hot sandwiches with toppings.  With that in mind, only one of these 10 bottles rings up higher than $20. (140 RMB for those of you in China.)

Zinfandel

Not a “white Zinfandel” which is everywhere, but rather a “red Zinfandel”. A red Zinfandel wine is both fruity and spicy. Some fruit aromas such as raspberries, blackberries, cherries, cranberries. And there is a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and black pepper. Depending on the winemaking and ageing methods it undergoes Zinfandel can display a range of secondary and tertiary aromas.

Red Zinfandel Wine Information
The color of a zinfandel wine is deep red, bordering on black. Zinfandel is a spicy, peppery wine, with a hint of fruity flavor – berries or dark cherries are often the taste range. Zinfandel goes well with “typical American” food – pizza, burgers, and steaks. It’s hearty enough to match up with thick red sauces.

Zinfandel is one of the all-time classic burger wines. Big, jammy, juicy and spicy, it’s almost as if it were invented for this most-American of sandwiches.

Cabernet

A Taste of Cabernet Sauvignon | wine.co.za
https://wine.co.za/wine/wine.aspx?WINEID=41057

2021-2-16 · Cabernet Sauvignon is a noble variety red grape - and is usually deep red in colour, full-bodied, with dark fruit flavours. It arose out of an accidental breeding between a red Cabernet Franc and a white Sauvignon Blanc grape plant - which subsequently has become one of the most planted and popular varieties in the red wine world.

There used to be an old television commercial. I forget what was being sold. Maybe it was a Heinz product for “57 Steak Sauce”. Encouraging people to shake a particular steak sauce onto their hamburgers instead of ketchup, the TV advertising campaign went something like this:

"...Is a hamburger made of ground ham? No — it's made of ground steak."

As long as it is not a tannic powerhouse, a California cabernet sauvignon, best friend of the juicy steak, is probably going to be a good match for your burger. It’s got a rich flavor, and when you drink it after a bite of a fine thick, cheesy burger the taste really excels.

Oh, I get goosebumps thinking about it.

A nice Cabernet is my favorite, as well as a fine sweet Shiraz.

Malbec

Taste and Flavor Profile Malbec wines are dry, full-bodied, and exhibit rich, dark fruit nose and flavors like blackberry and red plum. They're juicy and jammy, with notes of vanilla, tobacco, dark chocolate, and oak. With medium acid and moderate levels of tannins, they pair well with food.

What Is Malbec Wine? - The Spruce Eats
www.thespruceeats.com/what-are-malbec-wines-3511186

Argentines love their beef, and they wouldn’t dream of eating one of their famous steaks without a glass of malbec. Naturally, malbec is also a great burger wine, with its velvety plum, blackberry, chocolate and earth.

Rhone varieties

The Rhône, a major river in France, rises in the Alps and flows south to the Mediterranean Sea. This river lends its name to the southern French wine region on its banks, the Rhône Valley, as well as its major AOC, Côtes du Rhône.

The indigenous grape varieties that grow in the region, like Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier and Roussanne, are often referred to as Rhône grapes. So, regardless of their place of origin, wines made from these grapes are said to be Rhône-style wines the world over.

Rhone Blend
https://www.tastemonterey.com/rhone=blend
Definition: The Rhone region of France has a delightful selection of red varieties. There are 22 grapes allowed in the Rhone AOC, about half of them red. Most of these varieties are used as secondary blending partners, often comprising less than 10% of the blend. The primary red players of Rhone blends are Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre.

Can you imagine not seasoning a hamburger patty with a little bit of salt and black pepper? This is where the Rhone grape varieties come into play, especially the powerful and legendary syrah, which can range from floral to leathery, often with a bite of pepper.

Merlot

Most Merlot wines are thick and full-bodies. It’s sort of the “milkshake” of the wine world. It’s considered to be “heavy”, and if you are not used to it, it will get you drunk faster than the lighter wines. Because of this, you will need to drink it slowly and eat it with some fine beef or mutton.

A Taste of Merlot - wine.co.za
https://cellardirect.co.za/a-taste-of-merlot
The Eikendal Merlot 2017 has an attractive nose that reminds one of forest floor, violets, plums, black berries, cherries and peppery spices. On the palate the wine and full and rounded, with soft tannins and a rich taste of black berries and plums.

With richness and a silky mouthfeel, merlot is sort of the wine equivalent of a milkshake in this pairing scenario — if you consider that some people like the fizz and tang of soda with a burger, and others opt for a mouth-coating chocolate shake.

Here’s a picture where someone went into a White Castle fast-food franchise and got some sliders with their wine.

What a better moment than to think of Harold and Kumar…

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.

So, here I am enjoying a home made cheese burger. (And no, I did not skimp on the tomatoes, and yes, I do enjoy a nice onion with my burger) and drinking it with a fine local wine; Great Wall. It’s a very reasonably priced good real wine. Basic. Just the way I like it.

And I thought that I would cruse the internet, like I used to back in the mid 1990’s during the Bill Clinton years. Back then I actually believed the “news”. Now I know better.

The state of American “news”

Let me say a few words about the state of “news” in America today…

It sucks.

Yup, that’s pretty much it.

Tell ’em George.

For Shits and Giggles

So, for shits and giggles I visited Free Republic to check out what narratives are being promoted these days.

I used to frequent it excessively. But it’s become the mouthpiece of the hard-right, and no longer stands for anything resembling free discourse. And my being perma-banned pretty much validated that belief. After all, what is more hypicritical than to promote the idea of a “Free Republic” where you can freely experss ideas, and then perma-ban a member because “your ideas and thoughts are not welcome here.”

No longer searching for truth and providing a medium for free exchange of ideas it has become a money making venue which now maintains a niche market that caters to a mixture of old-world-conservatives, war-mongering neocons, and the religious right.

One of the first things you learn once you've been out of the United States for six months or longer is just how absolutely bad the American "news" actually is. It's horrible. They lie, and they distort and they do everything in their power to make you afraid.

I check up on the American media enclaves from time to time so that I don’t go too far off the deep end. (It’s easy to do.) Hard right. Hard left. Mainstream. I mostly just scan the headlines. It tells me all that I need to know.

I try to give equal time to all the “news” venues. They all have soemthing to say. They all are visited by people who are searching. It’s just that they all manipulate to push their own agendas.

I am NOT saying bad things about liberals or conservatives, or moderates or any other flavor. I am saying that there are some seriously ill people with some very little minds, and very big mouths. If not properly corralled they will end up causing all the rest of us to endure some real pain.

Contemporaneous news…

BUCS Sign Brady To 4-Year Contract... 

Michelle Obama considers 'retiring' from public life... 

Rubio sides with Alabama workers in AMAZON union battle...

Bezos invited by Sanders to hearing on income, wealth inequality... 

Congress Leaning Towards Big Tech Breakup...

What the AT&T Split Teaches About Antitrust... 

GOOGLE Faces 'Very Large' EU Advertising Probe, Vestager Says...

Claims MICROSOFT's Stance on News Is Effort to Distract from Hack... 

'NEWSROOM' actress appears to have plagiarized NYTIMES essay... 

Spring forward forever? Push to keep daylight saving time year-round grows... 

UPDATE: 'Historic' snowstorm to pummel Wyoming, Colorado...

'6 FEET'...

'Impossible travel conditions'... 

USA had coldest February in 30 years... 

ISIS creates 'elite new cell of jihadis to carry out attacks on West'... 

Rioters Set Fire to Federal Courthouse in Portland 1 Day after Fencing Removed... 

MYSTERY: Number of twins being born at 'all-time high', researchers say... 

Two-Thirds of Italians Set For Lockdown as Pandemic Worsens... 

Germany declares 'third wave' has begun... 

LA primed for disaster, but virus took it to another level! 

HALF adults infected with virus have symptoms of depression... 

Mexico czar got infected -- then walked through Mexico City... 

EU Governments Push to Relax Ban on Travel From Rest of World... 

Maskless, boozing JETBLUE passenger faces $14,500 FAA fine... 

Latest hotel amenity: Free test...

And yeah, Free Republic hasn’t changed, it’s still the anti-China crusade running hard and hot, plus the usual fearful articles, and a bunch of shit about anti-vax, anti-5G, anti-social reform, and anti-huawei. It’s anti-everything. Except for guns, walls, and war.

The only thing positive that I can say about it is that the culprits are pretty well brazen. They aren’t hiding their disgust about the rest of the world at all. It’s all pretty open, and well-aired. I’ve got to give them credit for that.

Yeah…

So I went through the first three pages and pulled out a slew of anti-China articles. And guess what? They are all from the same source. I wonder why they are spamming FR so aggressively?

Theyare all from the hard-religious-Right publication The Epoch Times.

What is The Epoch Times?. Dangerous Propaganda ...
https://medium.com/politically-speaking/what-is-the-epoch-times-e8f80d152a6f 

May 15, 2020 · The Epoch Times was started by John Tang in the year 2000 as a Chinese language newspaper. John Tang is a graduate of Georgia Tech who publicly supports the Fulan Gong...

All of the articles came from this singular source.

All of the anti-China articles are from this publication that advocates world war III to bring about global social change. Yeah, not all that different from other dooms-day-cults. Like Heaven’s Gate. Or the Jonestown Massacre in 1978. It’s curious to know that so many American conservatives are willing to listen, follow and fund a lunatic that follows in the same footsteps as the Jim Jones when he lead more than 900  followers to their deaths.

People do not drink the Kool-Aide that is being offered by The Epoch Times. It can lead you down a very dark, and scary, path.

Check out their religious-justified Anti-China war-mongering…

Let’s start here with this one. This one is simple. This article is just a rewording of a Reuters piece to bang-on China. Now the Reuters piece pretty much reports that the FCC is following the already in-place policies of the former Trump Administration. This republishing keeps the narrative alive. Giving the FR readership the idea that the Biden Administration is “keeping the heat on China”.

My comments:

It’s all fun and games for now. Just wait in ten years. When China and Russia tire of all this and the American electronic industry and software industry is under a graduated state of collapse. (Just like every other industry in America over the last few decades.) And then when it is tottering before the big fall, China, Russia and all of Europe pulls the rug out, and performs a “tit for tat” payback.

Oh, you all think that cannot happen?

How about this next article…

This one is a laugh. It’s implying and making statements that the Chinese people are fearful of what is going on and how the government is handing things. At a 93% Chinese approval rating the narrative doesn’t make sense. While I am sure that the local government is very active in Beijing, just as they are here, no one, and I do mean NOBODY is concerned. But the American readership knows none of that.

So they believe these LIES.

  • Beijing Pushes for Door-to-Door COVID-19 Vaccinations, Citizens Worry
3/13/2021, 9:38:12 AM · by SeekAndFind · 11 replies
Epoch Times ^ | 03/12/2021 | Alex Wu

Chinese authorities recently launched a door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination program in Chaoyang District, in the capital city of Beijing. Some residents shared their concerns with The Epoch Times over their distrust of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its propaganda about COVID-19 vaccines and the pandemic. Mainland Chinese media reported on March 10 that Beijing’s Chaoyang District began a new door-to-door vaccination program in residential communities and villages. The program is also carried out in five types of places such as government offices, the Central Business District (CBD), industrial parks, business offices, and school campuses. Chaoyang is where international companies, foreign...
    Now of course, all this anti-China narrative makes you think certain things about China. And since there are NO NAMES, and there are NO PICTURES, and there are NO VIDEOS, and no one is willing to provide links to the ACTUAL CHINESE DOCUMENTS, you all just believe what is being told. Yet the actual validity of what you read has as much worth as the ten year old riding the bike down the street.

And this one… it really cracks me up!

  • Nearly Half of Trump Supporters Won’t Take the CCP Virus Vaccine: NPR, PBS, Marist Poll
3/13/2021, 9:35:04 AM · by SeekAndFind · 94 replies
Epoch Times ^ | 03/12/2021 | Samuel Allegri

Almost half of former President Trump’s supporters don’t plan to take a CCP virus vaccine according to a poll by NPR, PBS, and Marist. The poll indicates that 47 percent of people who identified themselves as Trump supporters would not want to be vaccinated when the doses became available to them. Upon widening the demographics, the survey found that 41 percent of Republicans would not take the vaccine, compared to only 11 percent of Democrats saying they wouldn’t take it. In total, about two-thirds of Americans polled said that they’ve already taken a vaccine or would take one when they...
    Do you want something funny? Half the Trump supporters won’t take ANY vaccine, let alone one from China. But it’ll be hard for them to get the Chinese vaccine inside of America because it is not being shipped to America.

Uh Duh!

I’ll tell ya, you’ve got to be a fucking brainless morn to actually believe the bullshit that is being peddled in America today.

Here’s another…

  • 3 Deaths in 9 Days After Hongkongers Get China’s Sinovac Vaccine
3/13/2021, 5:21:07 AM · by SeekAndFind · 12 replies
Epoch Times ^ | 03/12/2021 | Emma Yu

Since Hong Kong began vaccinating the public with the China’s domestically-produced Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, on Feb. 26, three deaths in nine days have increased anxiety about the vaccine’s safety. On March 8, a 71-year-old man in Hong Kong died four days after receiving his vaccine shot. The patient was reported to be in good health before the vaccination. This was the third death in nine days in Hong Kong following a CoronaVac injection. It’s unclear whether the vaccine contributed to the deaths. Authorities have said they are investigating the causes of death. The first known death in Hong Kong...
    This one is simple. This article is just a rewording of a Jimmy Lai piece to bang-on China. He might be behind bars, and probably getting ready for organ harvesting, but his papers and media empire lives on…

…for now.

Hate. Hate. Hate.

And you all wonder why these sources and editors, and writers are being banned off the min platforms?

And here’s a hate spewing nonsense trying to associate the COVID-19 lite with China. You all want to know what these people look like to me…

  • Florida Gov. DeSantis Cancels All CCP Virus Fines Issued by Local Officials
3/13/2021, 3:15:54 AM · by lightman · 36 replies
epoch times ^ | 12 March A.D. 2021 | Lorenz Duchamps

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order that will eliminate all fines issued by local government officials over the past year to people and businesses in the state who violated restrictions related to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The order (pdf) was signed after the Board of Executive Clemency approved DeSantis’s proposal on March 10 to categorically remit all fines related to local government CCP virus restrictions. “I hereby remit any fines imposed between March 1, 2020, and March 10, 2021, by any political subdivision of Florida related to local government COVID-19 restrictions,” DeSantis confirmed in the order,...

It’s all war-mongering antagonistic bullshit. And if left unchecked it will lead to war. And people are gonna die!

Listen to me.

These NEOCONS are Dangerous.

The History of the Neocon Takeover of the USA

Copied as found with editing to fit this venue. It’s a good read and worth your time. All credit to the author.

This is the interview I just did with authors, Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, who have written a definitive 4-part article on the origins and the  history of the Neocon movement. The influence of the Neoconservatives has been catastrophic to the American government – and to much of the world, yet as they point out, it never seems to end. The authors describe it as an elitist cult; a rabid ideology which doesn’t rely on facts to justify itself.

This is the interview I just did with authors, Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald, who have written a definitive 4-part article on the origins and the  history of the Neocon movement. The influence of the Neoconservatives has been catastrophic to the American government – and to much of the world, yet as they point out, it never seems to end. The authors describe it as an elitist cult; a rabid ideology which doesn’t rely on facts to justify itself.

Senator J. William Fulbright identified the Neocons’ irrational system for making endless war in Vietnam 45 years ago, in a New Yorker article titled Reflections in Thrall to Fear: “Cold War psychology is the totally illogical transfer of the burden of proof from those who make charges to those who question them”, leading to “The ultimate illogic: war is the course of prudence and sobriety until the case for peace is proved under impossible rules of evidence [or never] – or until the enemy surrenders. Rational men cannot deal with each other on this basis…But these were not rational men and their need to further their irrational quest only increased with the loss of the Vietnam War.”

This same ideology drove the failed War in Iraq – and now, they’re at it again, with their foolhardy saber-rattling towards Russia.

The birth of the Neocon movement grew out of what had previously been known within the Eastern Establishment as “Team B”, in which official policies were tested by “competitive analysis”. The first Team B was created by George H. W. Bush, while he was Director of the CIA. This brought together very unlikely bedfellows, such as the ex-Trotskyite, James Burnham and Right Wing business interests, both of whom lobbied heavily for big military budgets, advanced weapons systems and aggressive action to confront Soviet Communism.

This Team B/Neocon doomsday cult managed to weather the defeat of the Vietnam War and their non-fact-based analyses continue to maintain a stranglehold on US policy.

James Burnham’s nihilist, elitist vision was criticized by George Orwell in his 1946 essay, Second Thoughts on James Burnham, in which he wrote, “What Burnham is mainly concerned to show [in the latter’s book, The Machiavellians] is that a democratic society has never existed and, so far as we can see, never will exist. Society is of its nature oligarchical, and the power of the oligarchy always rests upon force and fraud… Power can sometimes be won and maintained without violence, but never without fraud.” In fact, George Orwell’s classic book, 1984 was based on Burnham’s vision of the coming totalitarian state, which he described as “A new kind of society, neither Capitalist nor Socialist, and probably based upon slavery.”

There are many well-known godfathers of the Neoconservative agenda of “Endless War”, the guiding principle of America’s foreign policymakers today but Gould and Fitzgerald identify James Burnham as by far its most important figure, although he is little-known today.

Burnham was born in Chicago, the son of an English immigrant father. He attended Princeton University and later Oxford University’s Balliol College. He briefly became a close advisor to Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky, from whom he learned the tactics and strategies of infiltration, political subversion and dirty tricks. Gould and Fitzgerald note that the Right Wing Neocon cult of “Endless War” is ironically rooted in Trotsky’s permanent “Communist Revolution” and they describe how James Burnham helped to turn this into the permanent battle plan for a global Anglo-American empire. They write, “All that was needed to complete Burnham’s dialectic was a permanent enemy and that would require a sophisticated psychological campaign to keep the hatred of Russia alive for generations.”

In 1941, Burnham renounced his allegiance to Trotsky and Marxist idealism and he moved towards a cruel realism, with his belief in the inevitable failure of democracy and the rise of the oligarch. During the following years, he wrote several books and memos, predicting the rise of a technocratic elite. By 1947, Burnham’s transformation from Communist radical to New World Order American Conservative was complete, landing him smack into the loving arms of America’s Right Wing defense establishment during and after World War II.

In my own writings, I’ve noted that the use of the word “Freedom” by the US Government, whether it be “Freedom Fries”, “Operation Iraqi Freedom” or “They hate us for our freedom,” has completely mangled the significance of this F-word, certainly from a Constitutional perspective. Gould and Fitzgerald trace the bastardization of this word to James Burnham:

“Burnham’s Freedom only applied to those intellectuals (the Machiavellians) willing to tell people the hard truth about the unpopular political realities they faced. These were the realities that would usher in a brave new world of the managerial class who would set about denying Americans the very Democracy they thought they already owned. As Orwell observed about Burnham’s Machiavellian beliefs, in his 1946 Second Thoughts, ‘Power can sometimes be won or maintained without violence, but never without fraud, because it is necessary to use the masses.’”

With the CIA’s 1950 founding of the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF), Gould and Fitzgerald write, “By its own admission, the CIA’s strategy of promoting the non-Communist Left would become the theoretical foundation of the Agency’s political operations against Communism over the next two decades.”

Today, it appears that this strategy has been a smashing success, where we see the so-called Left in the US playing the role of fulminating, pro-Establishment Statists, a behavior formerly relegated to the Right. Never, in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the “tolerant Left” behaving like an army of Phyllis Schlaflys!

Prior to the catastrophe that was the Vietnam War, the Right was the establishment. The factual defeat of the ideals which drove this war was instrumental to the rise of the 1960s Counterculture movement, which was an even bigger disaster for the Neocons than losing the war. The Counterculture needed to be co-opted by any means necessary and I believe this has been successfully achieved.

Gould and Fitzgerald write that, “CIA’s control over the non-Communist Left and the West’s ‘free’ intellectuals [enabled] the CIA to secretly disenfranchise Europeans and Americans from their own political culture in such a way they would never really know it.”

Gould and Fitzgerald cite historian Christopher Lasch, who wrote in 1969 of the CIA’s co-optation of the American Left: “The modern state… is an engine of propaganda, alternately manufacturing crises and claiming to be the only instrument that can effectively deal with them. This propaganda, in order to be successful, demands the cooperation of writers, teachers, and artists, not as paid propagandists or state-censored time-servers but as ‘free’ intellectuals capable of policing their own jurisdictions and of enforcing acceptable standards of responsibility within the various intellectual professions.”

We see this very much today, in the Late Night comedy of Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah and SNL, the staff writers of which are largely hand-picked from the Harvard Lampoon, where young comedians are trained in a particular brand of comedy that deftly implants a fascist philosophy of extreme elitism and which fuses the ideals of the old Trotskyist left together with those of the right-wing Anglo-American elite, aka the Deep State.

The product of this fusion is called “Neoconservatism” – or its sneaky twin, “Neoliberalism”. The overt mission of this ideology is to roll back Russian influence everywhere. The covert mission is to reassert British cultural dominance over the Anglo-American Empire, maintained through propaganda. Traditionally, comedy has been used as a form of social and political criticism. Today, it cows the hapless consumer into submission to the hegemony.

Gould and Fitzgerald then inform us about the secret Information Research Department of the British and Commonwealth Foreign Office known as the IRD, which was funded by the CIA and served as a covert anti-Communist propaganda unit from 1946 until 1977. Gould and Fitzgerald cite Paul Lashmar and James Oliver, authors of Britain’s Secret Propaganda War, which describes how the IRD spread ceaseless disinformational propaganda (a mixture of lies and distorted facts) among top-ranking journalists working for major news agencies, including Reuters and the BBC and all other available channels. This was but one of many similar initiatives launched by the CIA’s Psychological Strategy Board, including Project Mockingbird and the abovementioned Congress for Cultural Freedom.

The mind is the ultimate battlefield. In my next talk with Gould and Fitzgerald, we will go into how the Deep State has designs on our dream life, in such figures as Robert Moss, a former assassin who now gives New Age workshops on “Active Dreaming.” (Incidentally, the New Age Movement was a CIA subproject of MK Ultra mind control programs). The soon-to-be-released 5G network will enable Virtual Reality, as predicted by Gould and Fitzgerald’s book, ‘The Voice: An Encrypted Monologue’, which takes the reader through the process of reclaiming one’s own narrative from the “noize” of unrelenting psychological warfare that saturates our environment.

Check out their book, ‘The Voice’ here:
https://www.forbiddenmedia.com/product/the-voice/

All this neocon “firehose” of disinformation from the hard-right seriously give me a headache. It’s like this…

(Since we are talking about 1994, and the Bill Clinton years of surfing the “web”.)

Oh, and where was I, oh yeah…

Video on the fifth tier cities in China

Let’s move away from the American “news” and let’s see a taste of what real reality actually is.

Here we just provide a video that is making the rounds in China. A fellow from the UK, who lives in China, has been making various You-tube videos of his experiences in China. And you can come across these kinds of videos all over the internet. But what makes this particular video so special is that it isn’t a first or second tier city. He’s making videos in the smaller “back woods” communities within China. It’s the real deal.

You see, most you-tube videos are of expats exploring Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Cool and big cities most certainly. But they are first-tier enormous urban landscapes.  But those of us, like myself, live in the smaller communities.

Here he is visiting some of the “smaller communities”. To an American, or Brit, it looks like a city. To a Chinese person, it is considered a small village. It’s not big and it doesn’t qualify for high speed rail, or subway access. But it is still vibrant and alive as all of China is these days.

Here’s the video. Click on the picture for the video to open up in a new tab. It’s around 12 minutes or so long, and is narrated by a British expat. Please excuse his accent, and his “squirly” appearance. He’s a typical. Don’t you know.

I do hope that you enjoy it. It’s pretty much what it is like when you enter the Chinese version of “Fly over country”, and a “Red State”.

Now, go and get some cheese, a bottle of wine, some music and call up some friends. Time is too short to waste!

Do you want more?

I have more articles in my China experience section. Go here…

China Experience

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Let’s talk about one of the little pleasures of life; a delicious pie.

Yeah, I get it. Donald Trump is running against Biden. It’s neck to neck,and coronavirus is ravishing America, and soon global warming (or is it cooling) is going to destroy the world as we know it. We must do something! Everyone screeches! And of course we have the underlying themes of “China is evil, bat eating, monsters”, and America must get involved in the Middle East, with Turkey and fight Iran, or some other such nonsense. And of course, a few billions of dollars in a train line that will connect Alaska with California is being considered as long as the right “palms are being greased”. Yawn.

Well, sit back.

“Pop a top” off your favorite ice cold beverage (if it’s wine it can be room temperature), and put on some easy tunes in the background.

We are going to discuss some really nice (and unappreciated) subjects right now. We are gonna talk about pies.

Pies.

Yup.

Pies.

Delicious, and tasty pies. You know, those things that are so delicious that most Americans now only get to sample a mere few times a month. Pies.

Wondrous.

Delicious.

Pies.

Almost every culture around the world has their own variation of a pie, whether it’s handheld or baked in a pan. Historically, pies have been favored not only for their delicious flavors but their ability to preserve their fillings for extended periods of time. This was especially useful not only during the winter but for long sea voyages as well.

In some places, pie underwent various transformations in public opinion, running the gamut from being praised to being considered deadly. But ultimately, pie has come out on top and is often brought out as a favorite treat during holidays.

The very first pies were primarily filled with meat, more often than not a type of bird. But before long, pies had conquered every flavor from savory to sweet. They now come in every imaginable shape and size and have transformed in every culture that they’ve come into contact with, creating a worldwide range of pies that is changing and coming up with new combinations of flavors every day. This is the long history of pie explained.

Memories…

An Australian or New Zealand meat pie is a hand-sized meat pie containing diced or minced meat and gravy, sometimes with onion, mushrooms, or cheese and often consumed as a takeaway food snack. The meat pie is considered iconic in Australia and New Zealand. It was described by former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr in 2003 as Australia's "national dish". New Zealanders regard the meat pie as a part of New Zealand cuisine, and it forms part of the New Zealand national identity.

-Wikipedia

The one thing that I will forever remember is the delicious “meat pie” that I used to get in Australia. There was this woman who would drive over an sell these “meat pies” to any one in the office. These were so delicious and she carried three different types and kinds that she manufactured at home in her kitchen.

Delicious home made Australian meat pie. One of the best things about Australia. You haven't lived until you had a fresh home-made Australian meat pie.
Delicious home made Australian meat pie. One of the best things about Australia. You haven’t lived until you had a fresh home-made Australian meat pie.

She was my “meat pie lady”. And Lordy, I was her meat pie man.

Australian meat pie.

If you have never tried one, then you are truly missing out of one of the great pleasures in life. How Australians can keep such a wondrous thing so secret is beyond me. It has to be one of my most favorite things about Australia, and believe you me, I have many, many things that I love about Australia.

Traditionally, Aussie Meat Pies are made with beef sirloin, minced quite small along with other vegetables such as onions, carrots and mushrooms. (Although some Aussie Meat Pie are just onions and beef.) For our recipe, we went with beef loin choice sirloin tips – keeping the beef in larger chunks for cooking.

-Aussie Meat Pies - A Family Feast

So why is this important?

Well, have you read the “news” lately? It’s all full of doom and gloom. The world is apparently falling apart at the seams, and “something must be done!”. But not to worry, there is a hero on the sidelines that will set everything right. Everyone must just obey him and the world will be good again.

…

Sure. What ever you say.

…

Does all this “news” make your life better in some way? Do you feel like you are happier, more energized, and in complete control of our world and the world around you?

Well, I will have to keep the last article in mind the next time that I have a heart attack. I’ll get the cute EMS chick and tell her to have sex with me right then on the spot. You know! For humanity!

Today, where I live, it’s raining.

The rain is falling down in a light drizzle.

The neighborhood kitty-cats are are chillin’ out and look at each other between the hedges, the shrubs and the bushes. maybe something along the lines of this…

Cats
Cats being cats.

And you know what?

Do you think that they care anything at all about all this “news” going on? Do you think that they give a damn, or care a “rat’s ass” about anything going on in Washington DC? Do you think they care what is going on with the NFL, or Donald Trump? Nope.

They do not.

Nor does the rest of the world either.

And the rain still gently falls…

…

It’s days and times like this that are perfect to go into a nice local diner and get yourself a nice cup of coffee. No. I am not talking about the Starbucks franchise where you pay just under $10 for a coffee. I am talking about sitting at a counter, getting a nice cup of ‘Joe and a slice of pie (with a scoop of ice cream) for half that amount.

Coffee gif.
Nothing goes better with coffee than a nice freshly baked pie.

So what defines a pie?

A pie is considered to be any sort of pastry shell that has a filling, either meat or sweet, and is covered with a top crust.

Simple, eh?

The top crust is an essential component in traditional pies, for according to Everything Pies, without the top crust, the pastry simply becomes a tart. (A tart is a pie without a top? Who would of known?)

A delicious American meat pie. It's not just Australians that get to enjoy this wonderful treat, don't you know.
A delicious American meat pie. It’s not just Australians that get to enjoy this wonderful treat, don’t you know.

While a tart may be considered a subset of a pie, most American pies would be considered tarts in England. This discrepancy emerged when pies transformed in their travels to America.

The word "pie" started being used in Medieval Latin around 1300. It's likely related to "pia," meaning "pastry," and is also believed to be connected with the word "pica," which refers to magpies. This connection is thought to be because of the birds' habit of collecting random objects, often like the ingredients that went into pies.

-Online Etymology Dictionary

While purists will maintain strict definitions of what counts as a pie or not, almost every culture has a version of a pie, especially ones that are handheld and portable.

Pies around the world

Rightly so, pies have proliferated around the world. While the form may vary across cultures, there seems to be a consistent urge across the globe to fill pastry shells with some sort of savory or sweet filling.

American delicious Blueberry pie.
American Blueberry pie.

Hand pies are especially prolific, because who wouldn’t want a pie that’s portable? 

While most hand pies have a semilunar shape, they can be found in all shapes and sizes around the world. Most hand pies are smaller versions of traditional meat pies, but no two are entirely alike. 

Empanadas and Jamaican patties are arguably the most popular hand pies in the world, but spanakopitas and samosas come in at a close second.

-The Takeout

Bastilla, also known as pastilla, is an example of a Moroccan meat pie that brings together the two ends of the pie spectrum, sweet and savory, into a rich blend of poultry, cinnamon, almonds, and sugar.

Even pizza masquerades as a pie. But no matter where one travels, pies have surely gotten there first.

Hieroglyphic pie recipes

The earliest known dish resembling a pie comes from the Neolithic period in ancient Egypt, as far back as between roughly 9500 BCE and 2000 BCE.

I can well imagine some Ancient Egyptians chillin’ out under the trees, and smunching on a fine pie. (In those days, Egypt was not a desert. It was forested with woodlands, wet lands, and a great diversity of wildlife. All under a bright blue sky.)

According to the BBC, one example of an ancient Egyptian pie was made out of barley, oats, rye, or wheat and filled with honey. The crust is thought to have been rather dense, and since the crusts of some of the early pies weren’t meant to be eaten, it’s possible that this crust was meant to hold the filling rather than be eaten itself, similar to a bread bowl.

Well…

That’s what they think, eh?

According to What’s Cooking America, drawings of pies that used fruits and honey can also be found on the walls of the tomb of Ramses II, who ruled from 1304 to 1237 BCE. And who would of known that Ramses the Great was a pie lover?

I know it was a surprise to me.

How about for youse guys?

Phyllo Meat Pies (Egyptian Goulash).
Phyllo Meat Pies (Egyptian Goulash)

Ancient Egyptians also made classic meat pies as well, with a chicken pie recipe being found carved in hieroglyphs on a tablet. The first recorded use of yeast occurred around roughly 2600 BCE, so it’s likely that they were making bread-filled pastries around the same time.

Chicken and dumplings couldn’t have been far behind…

Anyways, ancient Egyptian pie evolved into modern-day feteer meshaltet, which translates to “cushion-like pie.”

Feteer meshaltet is thought to have appeared in a semilunar form at one point as well, and it’s believed that the semilunar feteer meshaltet traveled to France, where it transformed into the croissant. Probably brought over by some of those French Soldiers that were busily conquering Egypt for the Great French Empire.

You know, back then France had to conduct these “police actions” in the middle East, or else they might suffer the fate of… (well, no one really knows what they would suffer from…)… but they had to do it… for the children (don’t you know) and for other reasons that I just cannot say because of “national security”.

You know the drill.

Feteer meshaltet.
Feteer meshaltet

Pies for all of history

From ancient Egypt, pies made their way into ancient Greece by the fifth century BCE.

According to Visit Greece, pies were part of the everyday diet of ancient Greeks. They loved their pies. It was almost a national obsession. Greeks and pies were inseparable. You know, like olive oil and wine.

And every city and village, whether on the mainland or on an island, has their own version of a pie, with different fillings, sizes, and shapes.

According to Cycladia, the Northwestern region of Epirus is the most famous region for Greek pies, likely due to its high population of sheep, which produce a wide variety of cheese, and its plethora of herbs and vegetation. Spanakopita is likely the most famous Greek pie, known for its savory spinach and cheese layers.

Spanakopita a traditional Greek pie.
Spanakopita a traditional Greek pie.

The Greek poet Philoxenus writes in his poem “The Banquet” of the hosts of a party serving a pastry made with honey and milk that was baked like a pie. Pies are even mentioned in the plays of Aristophanes, with multiple descriptions of small pastries filled with fruit.

Party on! Dionysus dudes and dudettes!

Wine, and pies…

What could be finer?

Well, the Romans had some ideas. And they believed that debauchery is best served with delicious pies, members of the opposite sex, and lots and lots of wine. And maybe some surprises…

And so, the Romans took the concept from the Greeks and made their pastry shells specifically for encasing and preserving the taste of the filling, rather than to be eaten. It was this version of the pie that made its way through Europe and to Britain.

History and Pies

I know, I know. I get it.

Why would anyone give a care or concern about early pie design? Who care what the Egyptians, the Greeks or the Romans ate? Why does it matter now? After all, this is the “most important time in history” don’t you know. We have been told this over and over and over. How America is so wonderful, and if it wasn’t for the great works of America, China and Europe would be nothing.

Well…

Maybe. Maybe not.

The rest of the world aren’t some kind of pale shadow that sit in the dark recesses of the curtains and await for the latest news out of Washington DC. The rest of the world just doesn’t care. It just doesn’t care.

And you shouldn’t either.

So I am gonna illustrate why you should care more about what the ancient Greeks ate and drank than what the “news” out of Washington DC says…

Ohhh. So much strife. So much bad news. So much SHIT being piled up upon you all in big smouldering piles.

Is the news actually real?

The news media is full of bull shit.
See all these “reporters” who are monitoring and reporting on the horrible abuse of the poor defenseless freedom-loving pro-democracy protestors. You can see just how ugly and terrible the HK police is, now can’t you?

I argue that all “news” is fake and intentional manipulation.

I also argue that there is no longer any “alternative” sources for news and opinion. They are all controlled by the government. Yes, that mans not only the “mainstream press”, but also the Alt-Right and the Alt-Left press. To see just how insane this all is, you need to step out of your environment and look in. You know, like an outsider would.

Let’s try this exercise, shall we.

Let’s step out side and look in.

Let’s look at what the Indian Press is reporting on. As I have, for the longest time been preaching that the American CIA under Mike Pompeo controls the Indian press, and Indian “news”. So what is the Indian press reporting on…

Hum…

Yeah. The “war drums” are beating really loudly in India.

Bet you weren’t aware of that, were you? That’s because the news is for Indian consumption, not for American, Chinese, or Russian consumption. The Indian news is to direct the mood, and motivations of Indians for easy control by their government.

Just like it is for the American news media. It is for control of the American population. It is not the “truth”.

Makes me want to chill out and have a pie.

Delicious yam and pumpkin pie.
When the world seems out of control, it’s a sign that you all need to go ahead, sit down and have nice delicious pie.

And that is the truth.

You see…

The entire world is trying to twist you, turn you, manipulate you. It is trying to fleece you with a billion tiny hands on your wallet, and using your emotions to force you to do things and move in certain predetermined ways. The ruling oligarchy knows this, and they are not concerned. They know that it’s all bullshit.

So what happens when…

…when you are so caught up in the pains of “modern life” that you don’t know what to do? Well, the answer is simple.

You go out and get a pie.

When the world seems out of control, and everything is hard, harsh and gloomy, you can always count on a fine cup of coffee and a fresh pie.
When the world seems out of control, and everything is hard, harsh and gloomy, you can always count on a fine cup of coffee and a fresh pie.

And pies…

Well, it doesn’t need to be a pie. It can be a ice-cold butterscotch milkshake. It can be a few hours fishing. It can be a bicycle ride down the quiet residential streets of your community. It can be carving some wood. It can be a nice quiet ride in a canoe. It can be just chilling our with your dog under your tree in the back yard, with a ice cold frosty beer in your hand.

It can be anything.

And for me…

…on this rainy day, it’s pies.

Pies get medieval

In medieval Britain, pies were primarily filled with meat, and the pastry shells weren’t necessarily eaten, like in Rome. The biggest appeal of pies was their ability to conserve space and preserve food for a longer time, especially on long sea voyages. These pies also had significantly more crust than filling and were known as “pyes.”

According to Slate, the pie crust was solely functional and was intended to be a hard shell that had to be broken open to get at the delicious filling inside. The crust was made to be incredibly thick so that it was able to withstand being baked over a fire for several hours. And funnily enough, the pie crusts themselves were referred to as “cofyns,” which just means “box.” This especially emphasizes the pie’s ability to store food, since the thick crust also helped keep food fresh for longer.

Of course, the need to make an easy food that is portable remains to this day. In the more remote and mountainous areas of China, the food still has to be transported up the mountainsides and through inhospitable terrain. It is important that the food be easy to eat with one hand while the other hand holds the ladder… (Click for the movie to pop up in a different tab.)

During this time, the most common filling was crow, and it’s rumored that the feet were used as handles. Birds in general were often used as filling, and songbirds especially were considered a delicacy. But according to Pie: A Global History by Janet Clarkson, it’s not clear exactly what the recipes for medieval pie crusts were. Medieval cookbooks weren’t intended to be instruction manuals and were instead more for those who were tasked with provisioning the kitchen, rather than the cooks themselves. And since pies were so commonplace, almost every cook knew how to make the crust in their sleep.

Eating crow is a colloquial idiom, used in some English-speaking countries, that means humiliation by admitting having been proven wrong after taking a strong position.

The crow is a carrion-eater that is presumably repulsive to eat in the same way that being proven wrong might be emotionally hard to swallow . The exact origin of the idiom is unknown, but it probably began with an American story published around 1850 about a dim-witted New York farmer.

-Eating crow - Wikipedia

Breaking out of the pie shell

Medieval pies sometimes included dinner and a show. Known as animated pies, a large crust would be baked over a wooden scaffolding with a hole in the bottom, from which the cook would afterward seal in live birds and a cooked pie. This way, when the top crust was cut open, the live birds would fly out of the outer pie. This custom is still referenced today in the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence.” Live birds weren’t the only things that burst out of pies. According to What’s Cooking America, other small animals, such as turtles, rabbits, and frogs, were also frequently incorporated.

Never a dull moment, don’t ya know.

Sometimes, people would also pop out for entertainment. One such person was Jeffrey Hudson, who was known for his small stature, reportedly standing only 18 inches tall at age seven. According to The Vintage News, when Hudson was seven, he was presented to King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria in London, bursting through the crust of a pie dressed in knight’s armor. Queen Henrietta was so amused by Hudson’s small stature that she took him on as her court dwarf.

What an honor! Wouldn’t you just love to be the royal court dwarf?

While there were some versions of sweet pies, in medieval Britain, they were distinguished from meat pies as tarts. And since sugar was expensive and rare, it wasn’t commonly used as an ingredient, so medieval sweet pies might not be considered sweet to a modern palette.

Personally, I would find them rather disgusting.

The queen always tries first

While Elizabeth I isn’t necessarily remembered for her role in the legacy of pie, she’s actually involved in the story of what’s thought to be the world’s first cherry pie. According to the BBC, the first cherry pie was reportedly baked for Elizabeth, although no one knows whether or not she enjoyed it.

When was the last time that you had a fine and delicious cherry pie? For me, it was far too long ago. Sigh.
When was the last time that you had a fine and delicious cherry pie? For me, it was far too long ago. Sigh.

During the 16th century, pies also continued the tradition of having appearances in plays. A pie plays a pivotal role in William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, becoming a literal coffin for Chiron and Demetrius after they brutalize Titus’ children. Titus not only kills Chiron and Demetrius and bakes them into a pie, but he goes on to serve that pie to their mother before murdering her as well.

Pies were also a popular snack for people in the upper classes to eat while watching the plays of Shakespeare. According to The Star, those who sat in the gallery often enjoyed meat pies in addition to crabs and dried figs. People in lower classes who watched from the yard snacked on oysters instead.

And, yes. No wonder there was a problem with over-population in the lower classes. heh heh.

Pies travel the Atlantic

As the British invaded and colonized North America, they brought pies along with them. I always envisioned that the reason that the British wore coats of red, was to cover up the pie stains that they would have from their massive intakes of delicious and wondrous pies.

With the different ingredients available across the Atlantic, American pies began to deviate from traditional British recipes.

While the popularity of pies wouldn’t explode until the 1800s, colonists often made pies in order to preserve the foods that were used for filling, which would keep during the winter months. According to Time Magazine, despite the fact that apple pie is considered to be quintessentially American, even that came over from England. And until sugar became included in the recipe, it was a far cry from the sweet treat known today.

Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Clemens, was reportedly a big fan of pies, and when he visited Europe, he apparently disparaged the food he encountered, longing instead for the many different kinds of pie to be found back home in the United States.

Mark twain on censorship.
Mark twain on censorship.

According to Slate, it was during their travel to America that the difference between tarts and pies became lost to the Americans. It was also around this time that sweet pies began to be more popular. With the establishment of sugar colonies in the Caribbean, sugar became much more common than it had previously been. And thus…

The rise of sweet pies

During their occupation and colonization of the Caribbean, the British established hundreds of sugar colonies that were kept running by the enslaved people kidnapped from Africa. On most of the islands, upwards of 80 percent of the population was enslaved. And you know why they needed to do it. It was “for the children”, and while the records are either missing or sealed, we know that it was because of “national security”.

The spread of sugar plantations led to the proliferation of sugar across Europe and North America, demonstrative in the rise of sweet pies. According to Pie: A Global History by Janet Clarkson, while fruit wasn’t entirely absent from pie recipes before the inclusion of sugar, it was rarely the primary ingredient. Most pies were made of a mixture of meats and the newly acquired sugar from the slave plantations.

America became a new world full of wondrous delights and fun and frolic.
America became a new world full of wondrous delights and fun and frolic.

By the Victorian era, mince pies, made of an assortment of dried fruits and spices, were also a common sugary treat, and soon, “mincemeat” didn’t even have to include meat. And recipe books began including meat-free versions alongside traditional meat pie recipes, allowing for the proliferation of hundreds of different types of pies. With the spread of dairy and eggs, cream pies also rose in popularity alongside fruit pies.

The criticism of pies

As pie became more popular, it also came under attack in the mid-1800s. According to the Los Angeles Times, Harper’s Magazine published an attack on pies in 1866, which hyperbolically claimed that, “Pie in countless varieties waits upon us through life. Pie kills us finally.” Claiming that the dough of pie crusts was indigestible, dietary reformers continually tried to steer people away from eating pies.

Why “there ought to be a law”…

According to The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, dietary reformers claimed to be interested in the science of nutrition, but a lot of their attacks seemed to be geared toward immigrants and low-income people. Claiming that if people changed what they ate, then the American spirit wouldn’t be weighed down by so much dough, people like Sarah Tyson Rore, food editor of the Ladies’ Home Journal, made sure to frequently warn people about how pies took too much energy to digest. I am sure that she had the “best interests” of the people in mind.

Don’t you?

You all don’t want that insatiable “American spirit” to die and drown out under a gluttony of pies.

The Century Cookbook, published in 1895, decided to include the comment that, “The American pie is perhaps the most ridiculed of dishes. […] The mince pie, probably the most indigestible of all, is the one universally accepted as a treat, and seldom refused by the scoffer.”

According to Smithsonian Magazine, some even believed that eating pie was a cause of divorce, like alcoholism.

  • Eating a pie was the first step towards alcoholism.
  • Eating a pie was the first step to a divorce.
  • Eating a pie, and suddenly the women would want to smoke cigarettes.
  • Eating a pie, and before you know it, woman’s ankles will be exposed to the public!

But with the outbreak of World War I, eating pie became a patriotic activity. Pies became a symbol of that which soldiers missed while they were off fighting in foreign countries. This association with patriotism would continue.

  • Eat a pie and fight the evil German horde!
We are all under manipulation.
The easiest people to manipulate are those that believe that they are avoiding manipulation by reading “alternative media” like Alt-Right or Alt-Left publications.

The alternating popularity of pie

According to Slate, during the Great Depression, Ritz crackers began including recipes for “mock apple pie” on the backs of their boxes. Made with the times in mind, the recipe suggested soaking the crackers in vanilla, lemon, and cinnamon to be used instead of real apple filling, since apples were in short supply and too expensive to indulge in.

1936 advertisement for Ritz Crackers.
1936 advertisement for Ritz Crackers.

By the mid-20th century, however, the popularity of pies began to rise again as canned fruit and instant pudding mixes made it easier to make filling. Ready-made pie crusts also drastically simplified the pie-making process, and with the spread of home refrigeration, chilled pie recipes also became increasingly common.

But, according to The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, simultaneously, the amount of pies being made started to dip as a result of urbanization and industrialization. As more and more women joined the workforce, the act of making a pie every week was too laborious an activity, so it started to become more of an occasional undertaking for special occasions. Like Christmas and Thanksgiving.

All the same, pies continued to persevere as a symbol of America. According to Smithsonian Magazine, when Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev went to New York City in 1960, someone sent an apple pie to his Park Avenue address. The American pie was meant to represent all the layers that America had, while “the Communist pie is nothing but crust.”

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is OIP.ee-45iNe4kLMM01mEFZtJgHaE7.jpgCommunist China meat baozi. It's a small palm sized pie that is steam and served piping hot and full of delicious and tasty juices.
Communist China meat baozi. It’s a small palm sized pie that is steam and served piping hot and full of delicious and tasty juices.

Pies endure

Today, pies are considered a quintessential dessert for some holidays and remain a savory meal for any day of the year. Pies also continue to evolve as people come up with hundreds of types of crusts and fillings.

After being called “an American evil” and an “unmoral food [sic]” by Kate Masterson in The New York Times in 1902, pies have remained a classic of not only American cuisine but of cuisines around the world.

The pie-in-the-face joke even endures as physical comedy.

Having a pie thrown in your face used to be funny.
Back in the day, having a pie thrown in your face was considered the height of comedy.

Pies have even become punnily associated with Pi Day, celebrated on March 14 due to its resemblance to the mathematical number.

But it seems that the exact definition of a pie still eludes us. According to Slate, Emily Elsen, founder of the pie shop “Four and Twenty Blackbirds,” her European customers call her pies “cakes,” and the debate of pies vs. tarts seems endless.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, the phrase “as American as apple pie” didn’t appear until 1924, when it was used in an advertisement for men’s suits. But no one culture has a monopoly on pies. Pies have transformed in every culture they’ve engaged with, and even if no one can determine exactly what counts as a pie, few will pass up a free slice. 

And why this matters…

It seems like everyone, around the world, loves a good pie.

They are made everywhere, and if there is an argument between two people, the surest way to stop the argument is to offer them a free slice of pizza pie.

But you don’t have to do that, don’t you know.

You don’t have to wait until there is conflict or arguments or turmoil, or strife to take action. You can go out right now and get yourself a fine tasty pie. And what’s stopping you? When was the last time you went into a diner and got a slice of pie? Or is the only pie that you eat from McDonalds?

What is stopping you?

Start doing.
Stop waiting. Start doing.

And …

And…

Why eat it alone? Why not ask that cute chick out for a free slice of pie and a cup of coffee, or your friends, or maybe you next door neighbor? Why not? What’s stopping you from driving over to your grandmothers house, and telling her that you want to take her out to get a fresh hot pie and a cup of coffee. Why not?

No.

You are not going to do it, are you?

You like the pre-birth world-line template that you are on right now, and doing something like this is way out of your character. Isn’t it?

Admit it.

isn’t it?

Or…

Maybe you have something better to do. Maybe the grass needs to be mowed, or the “news” is on and there is some urgent breaking news about the President! Or maybe there will be a hurricane, a tornado, or global warming (or cooling) will come forth and crush your life. Ya gotta be prepared. Don’t you know.

Look out the window.

It’s beautiful out there.

Beautiful.

There's a beautiful world out there. Maybe you need to go forth and enjoy it some.
There’s a beautiful world out there. Maybe you need to go forth and enjoy it some.

And…

Well, for me the drizzle ended. It’s in the evening, and the sun is starting to dusk out. People are going out and relaxing. Some school kids are playing basketball out, and I can see a few couples strolling along the beach with their dog. I hear the school kids playing outside my building. It’s nice.

In fact, this time of the day is my favorite (well, one of my favorites). It’s when things start to get cooler and a nice breeze kicks up. The lights offer a rosy yellow gold glow to the deepening blue of the sky and the deep shades of the lush trees are soft, deep and dark.

At this time of the day, I usually toss the trash out.

Yeah, I know. Boring, eh?

Then we either go out to eat, or stay in. Not that I am hungry right now, but a fine glass of wine and some delicious food is always welcome. And that is what it is all about, isn’t it.

I can see some folk eating Shao Kao next door. This is the Chinese version of BBQ. You can smell the chicken cooking, and the hot peppers (yeah, it’s a thing. You put the hot peppers on a stick and you cook them. They lose about half of their hot spiciness, and get a little sweet.) The guys are starting to have a few beers with their meal. Nice.

You know.

All around the world we are the same.

The Chinese aren’t that evil bat-soup slurping group of evil heathen, and Americans are not pristine knights in white satin doing the good work of Jesus. We are just people. Living life. Having fun. Making friends. Enjoying the moments together.

I like to believe that there is a woman for every man, and many people that share the same interests that we all hold inside…

So…

What’s stopping YOU?

Is it that you don’t think that you want to meet other people, other gals, or do other things? Is it because you are so caught up in your own easy and comfortable routines? Is it because that that you are so addicted to the news media that you NEED to stay inside to “get your fix” on the latest “news” and pronouncements?

Well…

That’s all a lie. It’s a nice comfortable lie that sticks you all to the pre-birth world-line template like a fly stuck on fly-paper. If you all really want your dreams and wishes to manifest, you all will need to break off and out of that artificial environment that has entrapped you.

And this environment is complex. It involves many things…

  • Your habits, that prevent you from deviation off your world-line trajectory.
  • The “news” that constantly programs and reprograms your mind.
  • Your friends and associations that repeat the “news”.
  • The music you listen to and the movies you watch.

And these are the things that await you once you become self-actuated…

Pretty Girls

Whether you are in a relationship now or not, everyone deserves to have more friends. They add color and depth to our life. As well as maybe helping to point out the “door handles” that lie upon the “hallway of life”. Click to see the movie in a different tab.

And or , maybe someone like this…

Click on the picture (like the above) to see the movie in a different tab.

The thing about all this is that our universe is the most colorful, exciting and wonderful when we are interacting with others. With other people. Not with other things. So that illusion that you can conduct business from behind a computer monitor, or have a Zoom chat instead of a face-to-face meeting is pretty much a lie. Real people interact in time-honed interpersonal ways.

So self-actuate.

Go forth and interact with others.

And maybe you have “had it” with people! I am one person who absolutely understands. But what about our other friends, or pets; our dogs and cats in our lives. You know…. Like this…

Click to see the movie in a different tab.

Or maybe your life has become a little too predictable, too stale. Too boring. maybe you need to go to a KTV and liven things up. Maybe something like this… You know, more my speed. Heh. Heh.

(Taken outside one of the KTV rooms. Click to see the movie in a different tab.)

Or like this on the inside.

Here’s a chick singing Gee Gee Gee, LOL. Yeah. It’s all sort of like this.

Or perhaps you are not American, and your idea of social interaction and belonging is different. that is not a problem. No matter how you feel, and no matter how you express yourself, you all should do it and do it your way. Do things your way, and on your terms. Just do it.

Here’s from the Samoan Islands. Grand. Just Grand.

I do miss my friends there. I really do. There are some really fine, fine folk in American Samoa. I’ll tell you what.

I guess that the point that I am trying to make is that life is about experiencing the adventure of it. But by the nature of our consciousness and our reality, it is so very easy to get fixed and comfortable on a life-line vector that is fine and comfortable.

I think that the greatest amount of fun might happen when you do something different.

Not drastically different mind you, but different enough.

Like getting a pie and a cup of coffee in a diner or a local restaurant. Not a fast food “joint”.

It’s your life, and your choices. You choose. You flick the new “switches” and set your world-line vector to new directions and buckle up your seatbelt. Because the moment you start to deviate off of your comfort zone, you SLIDE to new realities, and then…

…it’s a new “ballgame”.

Do you want more?

I have more posts in my Happiness Index here…

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